Robert Drake
Character Stat Sheet Public Information As Robert "Bobby" Drake, a few pieces of information are publicly available to anyone were to go looking, but there is very little reason anyone would. Born in Floral Park, Long Island, where he lived until his mid teens. At age 15 there was a major confrontation between him and his girlfriend and a local bully. Details on the incident are limited, and police records are sealed as all involved were minors at the time. There is no conviction on record regarding that incident, and since then Bobby has no police record beyond traffic violations. Afterwards, Bobby was sent off to a private school in Westchester (the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning), and completed his high school education there. He then attended college and, though his grades were unremarkable, earned a B.S. in Accounting with a minor in Mathematics. He then briefly held a job as a CPA with a small firm, before returning to the Xavier Institute, where he now teaches Mathematics. In his alter ego as the Iceman, he is known as a member of the X-men, and as their resident class clown/comic relief. Depending on who you ask, this classifies him as either a hero or a terrorist. The majority of the public is a bit unsure, but would lean towards the latter. As a member of this group, he is thus a known mutant (for those who follow such things that closely). Although a resident of Earth-24800, he did cross over to Earth-24 during the Merge, and was seen fighting alongside other heroes in Metropolis. Of Special Note: Due to the nature of his powers, particularly his ice form, the two sets of public information on Robert drake and Iceman are just that, separate, except for in classified sources such as that of certain branches of the U.S. government and SHIELD. Even those who have met him in one form would not automatically recognize the other as the same person. Background Bobby Drake was a fairly typical child of the suburbs. The only child of a family in a fairly affluent part of Long Island, his childhood was about as idyllic as a modern childhood can be, punctuated by his impish personality and clownish sense of humor. As he edged towards his teens, the boy's mutation began to emerge. At first, he was subject to constant chills and bouts of hypothermia, but doctors were never able to pin down a cause. Eventually, as he started to get a grip on his powers in private, the mysterious malady seemed to fade, and was mostly forgotten. Bobby never disclosed his discovery of his abilities to his parents, as his father's response to mutants in the news was overwhelmingly negative. A few years later, barely age 15, Bobby was on a date with his first girlfriend, Judy, when a local bully and his gang decided to give the young couple a hard time. In an attempt to save Judy from harm, Bobby unintentionally lashed out with his powers, encasing the bully in ice. Although the bully was freed from the ice without harm, police were called, and ended up taking Bobby into protective custody as a crowd started to rally against the 'dangerous mutant'. A few hours later, a rather despondent Bobby was visited by Cyclops (at the behest of Charles Xavier), and offered a place at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. At first Bobby, who wanted nothing more than for his life to return to normal, refused. Upon leaving the precinct, however, he found himself facing a modern day lynch mob who had been whipped into a frenzy against the 'dangerous mutant'. Charles Xavier ended up having to intervene personally, both rescuing Bobby and modifying the memories of those involved, restoring the secret of his status as a mutant. Bobby quickly made a home for himself at the Xavier Institute, and became the class clown that no one could ever manage to stay mad at for long. He worked at gaining control of his powers, and when it was decided to form the X-men, he became the youngest of the original members. Through the rest of his time as a student at the Institute, he remained a part of that team. He graduated in 2005 and went off to UCLA to pursue a degree in Accounting, fully intending to 'hang up his tights' and settle into a normal life. Fate had other ideas for him. He did manage to get through college with a minimum of extraordinary events (mostly when he went 'home' to the Institute during breaks), and graduated in 2009. He even obtained his license as a CPA, and went to work in an accounting firm in lower Manhattan. The awakening of Jean Grey as the Phoenix, and her subsequent rise as the Dark Phoenix, lead Bobby to return to the X-men. He returned to the Xavier Institute, and signed on as a math teacher. Since then, with one notable exception, Bobby has been a teacher at the school and a proud member of the X-men. Even if most of the faculty still consider him more trouble than the majority of the students. Iceman's sole adventure away from the X-men came during the events of the Merge. Alongside Spider-man, he ends up crossing over into Metropolis, and fighting alongside both heroes and villains of Earth-24 to save that city. Afterwards, he returned, settling back into as close a thing to 'normal' as his life ever gets. Personality Although his mutant powers are impressive, with limits that are largely unexplored, they are not the trait most people would use first in describing him. It's his mouth. The constant stream of irreverent comments, juvenile taunts and bad puns that stream from him during a fight are often at least as damaging as his powers. And indisputably more aggravating to his opponents (and sometimes his allies). The clownish X-man would rather not fight at all, if he could help it. People getting hurt is never funny. And that may be the biggest key to the personality of Iceman. He doesn't fight for abstractions, doesn't fight for ideals (despite being idealistic, and a member of a team whose idealism is a defining trait). He fights for people. He would much rather be a "normal" human than one of the most potent mutants alive, but he has his powers, and when something threatens the people he cares about, or innocent people around him, standing back and doing nothing would be unthinkable. Bobby Drake is, ironically enough, one of the warmest, most open people around. Especially in the ranks of superheroes, where aloof, elitist, or standoffish are more common character traits. Unfortunately, his greatest personality flaw stems from this same source. His own powers scare him. He is all too aware that the things he can do are just not normal. In particular, the transformation of his body into something that is literally cold and inhuman makes him afraid that his powers will isolate him, setting him entirely apart from the human contact he so dearly loves. This deep fear has kept him from really exploring his powers. While he has trained as hard as anyone when it comes to gaining control of his powers, he has been strangely reluctant to push the boundaries or experiment with new ways to use what he can do. Category:Marvel Features Category:Elite Characters Category:Mutants Category:X-Men Category:Available Characters